September 12th marks the debut of Las Vegas’ own Radical Movie Night, hosted by the Sunset Activist Collective, co- Sponsored by Nevada Cop Block and Food Not Bombs Las Vegas, and officially endorsed by the Las Vegas A-Cafe. This will be a monthly free showing of either a documentary or a movie with significant social value. The main purpose of Radical Movie Nights will be to connect local community members and encourage active participation within the local community by those within it to promote and empower those wishing to make positive grassroots-based improvements where they live and within their personal workplaces.

The location where Radical Movie Nights will take place is The Sci Fi Center, which many locals already know from its longstanding tradition for showing independent movies and cult classics that are often not available in a large screen setting. (Disclaimer: the Sci Fi Center is not actually involved in the Radical Movie Nights, outside of permitting us to use it as a venue for showing movies.)

Radical Movie Nights in Las Vegas will take place every second Friday at the Sci Fi Center

The movie, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won numerous other awards, shows the history and personal reasons why those involved in the ELF actions did what they did and how they became “radicalized,” during previous less militant actions. In addition it addresses issues involving the declaring activists, who never actually harmed or ever tried to harm people, terrorists, based solely on property damage.

However, it also interviews and discusses the perspective of the targets of those actions and the effects they had on them. As a result, it is a fairly even handed presentation of the facts involved, which allows viewers to decide for themselves who was right or wrong and why.

“In December 2005, Daniel McGowan was arrested by Federal agents in a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front– a group the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.”

For years, the ELF—operating in separate anonymous cells without any central leadership—had launched spectacular arsons against dozens of businesses they accused of destroying the environment: timber companies, SUV dealerships, wild horse slaughterhouses, and a $12 million ski lodge at Vail, Colorado.

With the arrest of Daniel and thirteen others, the government had cracked what was probably the largest ELF cell in America and brought down the group responsible for the very first ELF arsons in this country.

IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT tells the remarkable story of the rise and fall of this ELF cell, by focusing on the transformation and radicalization of one of its members.

Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thrilller, the film interweaves a verite chronicle of Daniel on house arrest as he faces life in prison, with a dramatic recounting of the events that led to his involvement with the group. And along the way it asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism.

Drawing from striking archival footage — much of it never before seen — and intimate interviews with ELF members, and with the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them, IF A TREE FALLS explores the tumultuous period from 1995 until early 2001 when environmentalists were clashing with timber companies and law enforcement, and the word “terrorism” had not yet been altered by 9/11.”

The first “Police Fatality Public Fact-Finding Review,” regarding the murder of Stanley Gibson by Metro Officer Jesus Arevalo, is scheduled to take place on Thursday February 28th beginning at 9:00 am and will be located at the Clark County Government Center, where the Clark County Board of Commissioners hold their regular meetings.

We’ll be meeting up at 8:00am in order to organize together and go over the specifics of what we will be doing to bring attention to Stanley’s murder. It’s incredibly important for anyone that cares about justice and supports accountability for police that commit crimes against people within the Las Vegas community to be there and make their voice heard for past victims of police violence and to prevent future innocent victims.

In spite of the long-winded name change, the new process that was created by LVMPD’s Sheriff Gillespie and Chris Collins of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association (Police Union) is designed to do anything but allow the public to find facts. The reality is that it is much worse than the original, much maligned, Coroner’s Inquest system that it will be replacing.

Unlike the Coroner’s Inquest, the Police Fatality Review will involve no opportunity for testimony from witnesses and only voluntary testimony by the police involved in the shootings, which the LVPPA has already gone on record as saying that pretty much has no chance of happening. What it amounts to is a choreographed staging of the police department’s version of events with zero representation from a genuine neutral party, the victim’s family, or independent witnesses.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson actually referred to it as a “performance,” while endorsing it, during the Commissioner’s meeting in which it was initially proposed. That’s just how much of a blatant and callous cover up the Police Fatality Review is.

The first case to go before this Police Fatality Review involves the murder of Stanley Gibson, an unarmed man who was shot seven times by Jesus Arevalo in spite of having committed no actual crime and having had his vehicle blocked in by several police cars so that it was unable to move.

Stanley, a disabled veteran, who was lost and suffering a panic attack as a result of PTSD and other ailments he suffered during his time in the Persian Gulf, represented no direct or imminent probability of harming anyone at the time.

There was no reason for any of the dozens of heavily armed police to feel in any way threatened by him. And the fact that of all those cops there, only Jesus Arevalo felt the need to fire the shots that killed Stanley Gibson only supports that conclusion.

Instead of holding someone that at best was grossly negligent that night accountable for his actions, D.A. Wolfson, Sheriff Gillespie, LVPPA’s Chris Collins, the Clark County Board of Commissioners, and every other member of the LV Metro Police Department are closing ranks around him in a misguided attempt to cover up yet another officer involved shooting under what could only mildly be called questionable circumstances.

Anyone living in Las Vegas should be well aware that there is a longstanding problem with brutality and outright murder by members of Las Vegas area police departments, especially those of the LVMPD. In several cases, especially those involving Stanley Gibson, Erik Scott, Trevon Cole, Henry Rowe, and Rafael Olivas, the circumstances behind the shooting have been incredibly questionable, if not completely inexcusable.

The obvious reason for the mounting body count by local police is the fact that no Las Vegas area police officer has EVER been held accountable for shooting someone, no matter how questionable that shooting has been.

Replacing what was already a terribly flawed system with one that not only retains those flaws, but incorporates even less transparency and can only be seen as a conscious effort to ensure the police never have to fear being held accountable for deaths they cause not only doesn’t address this problem, but in reality actually makes it harder for the police to do the things they are supposed to do by creating a lack of trust and discouraging any support for police from the people living within the community that they work.

It’s a self-perpetuating downward spiral that only exacerbates an already toxic and often violent relationship. The time to put an end to this has already passed and things can only get worse at this point if the transparency and accountability that Sheriff Gillespie promises so often isn’t actually upheld truthfully and with honest intentions.

As of right now, I have been unable to find any info regarding the specifics of the expected length of the kangaroo court that will begin Thursday or restrictions on public entry into the chambers where it will be held. Although, I suspect this lack of information is intentional, if I do come across that information I will post it here.

This week, among other things, we will be discussing the second annual “Chalk the Police Day” hosted by Nevada Cop Block (in conjunction with the national Cop Block chapter and over 30 local Cop Block groups), which will take place Oct. 1st; the anniversary of the first Occupy encampment in Zucotti Park, New York, which will take place this Monday, Sept. 17th; ongoing organizational planning for a local Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) GMB; and “business” issues relating to Las Vegas Food Not Bombs.

We will also have the newly created official Cop Block press passes available for anybody that hasn’t already seen them. In addition, if you have any issues, actions, or events you are involved with feel free to come down and present them to attendees.

The Las Vegas Anarchist Cafe meets Saturdays, from 6:00—8:00pm, at Sunrise Coffee Shop, which is located on Sunset Rd. between Pecos and Eastern. The A-Cafe is not a place, it’s an event–a social experiment in urban anarchy, organized by the Southern Nevada Alliance of the Libertarian Left and a group of unaffiliated local anarchists.

The A-Cafe is a forum for anarchists in the Las Vegas area to get to know each other, to hang out, to shoot the breeze, to talk some shop, to talk about the projects that we are working on, and to organize new projects. Anyone who’s an anarchist, anti-statist, or just anarchy-curious is invited to join us.

Drop in any time — the gathering is informal, and based on chatting and sharing information. There isn’t a fixed agenda. (But if you want to set up an organizing meeting for a particular project with a fixed agenda, A-Cafe is a great place to meet people to invite.) Feel free to drop in at any time and leave whenever you need to.

This week we will discuss potential location and/or time changes for the A-Cafe in light of the “summer hours” that the Coffee Bean is now using (the now close at 6pm, which is when the A-Cafe starts). The potential options are move the time up or find somewhere else to hold it that is open later. Any suggestions are welcome, but it would be best to decide on a solid choice and stick with it, in order to avoid the confusion that comes with moving around from one week to the next.

Also, once again we will continue planning for the candlelight vigil in honor of Stanley Gibson scheduled for June 12, which marks six months since he was murdered by a member of the LV Metro Police Department. We’ll also discuss the official launch of Nevada Cop Block, a police accountability group, ways you can get involved and support it, and why you should.

In addition, we will be discussing the IWW and the necessity of labor activism in today’s economy. As well as hosting the weekly organizational meeting for Las Vegas Food Not Bombs. Other potential subjects to be discussed include corporatism within the downtown community and efforts to facilitate gentrification by local politicians. And of course, any subject/project you might want to discuss.

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The Vegas Anarchist Cafe is a weekly meet-up for networking, building community, and doing some outreach for Anarchists in Las Vegas, which Southern Nevada Alliance of the Libertarian Left has been organizing together with unaffiliated local Anarchists for the past three years. The main idea is just to give Anarchists, anti-statists, and Anarchy-curious fellow travelers a place to meet up and talk in an informal setting at a local coffee-house. There isn’t a fixed business agenda; the idea is to give people a place to find each other. Once they’ve found each other, A-Cafe can serve as a springboard for the independent projects that they may want to start.

The A-Cafe is not a place, it’s an event–a social experiment in urban Anarchy. The A-Cafe is a forum for Anarchists in the Las Vegas area to get to know each other, to hear talks on subjects that interest us, to hang out, shoot the breeze, talk about the projects that we are working on, and to organize new projects. Anyone who’s an Anarchist, anti-statist, or just anarchy-curious is invited to join us.

Drop in any time — The gathering is informal, and based on chatting and sharing information. There isn’t a fixed agenda. (But if you want to set up an organizing meeting for a particular project with a fixed agenda, A-Cafe is a great place to meet people to invite.) Feel free to drop in at any time and leave whenever you need to.

As you can see by the corrections below, the “foreseeable future” has arrived for the A-Cafe. If you want to know exactly what happened and why, come down and ask us about it and we’ll give you the long answer. The short explanation is that the original Occupy Las Vegas campsite was set up by Democrats trying to co-opt and redirect the Occupy movement (which also happened in numerous other cities).

Members of the Las Vegas Anarchist Cafe, along with genuine Occupiers, were instrumental in recognizing this, exposing it to other Occupy Las Vegas members, and forming a legitimate Occupy group in Las Vegas, which is organized online at http://occupylv.org.

As result of all this, the A-Cafe has subsequently relocated back to our original meeting place at the UNLV Coffee Bean, located at 4550 S. Maryland Pkwy. We currently meet from 6-8pm every Saturday evenings.

As always, the Las Vegas Anarchist Cafe is recognized as an independent affinity group of OccupyLV. What this means is that people wishing to become involved in the local Occupy group can do so through the A-Cafe. However, it also means that attendees of the A-Cafe are in no way obligated to participate, agree with, or in any other way participate in the Occupy movement here or elsewhere.

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The A-Cafe is currently meeting on location as part of the #OccupyLasVegas (http://occupylv.org/ ) activities. Tonight (and for the foreseeable future), we will be meeting at the campsite, which is located at the overflow parking lot for the Double Down Saloon between Paradise and Swenson and directly across from the thomas and Mack Center UNLV Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. There will also be a potluck dinner and a concert as part of the Occupy Las Vegas events that you can participate in, if you wish.

If you have any trouble finding the location, call Kelly at 702-530-9123.

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The Vegas Anarchist Cafe is a weekly meet-up for networking, building community, and doing some outreach for Anarchists in Las Vegas, which Southern Nevada Alliance of the Libertarian Left has been organizing together with unaffiliated local Anarchists for the past three years. The main idea is just to give Anarchists, anti-statists, and Anarchy-curious fellow travelers a place to meet up and talk in an informal setting at a local coffee-house. There isn’t a fixed business agenda; the idea is to give people a place to find each other. Once they’ve found each other, A-Cafe can serve as a springboard for the independent projects that they may want to start.

The A-Cafe is not a place, it’s an event–a social experiment in urban Anarchy. The A-Cafe is a forum for Anarchists in the Las Vegas area to get to know each other, to hear talks on subjects that interest us, to hang out, shoot the breeze, talk about the projects that we are working on, and to organize new projects. Anyone who’s an Anarchist, anti-statist, or just anarchy-curious is invited to join us.

Drop in any time — The gathering is informal, and based on chatting and sharing information. There isn’t a fixed agenda. (But if you want to set up an organizing meeting for a particular project with a fixed agenda, A-Cafe is a great place to meet people to invite.) Feel free to drop in at any time and leave whenever you need to.

Informal meetup 6:00–8:00pm at the UNLV Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Drop in any time — The gathering is informal, and based on chatting and sharing information. There isn’t a fixed agenda. (But if you want to set up an organizing meeting for a particular project with a fixed agenda, A-Cafe is a great place to meet people to invite.) Feel free to drop in at any time and leave whenever you need to.

Featured

The Las Vegas Anarchist Cafe meets Every Friday from 7:00–9:00pm at 1140 Almond Tree Ln #305 (Maryland Pkwy. and Sahara area). The A-Cafe is not a place, it’s an event–a social experiment in urban anarchy. A-Cafe is a forum for anarchists in the Vegas Valley to get to know each other, hear talks on subjects that interest us, hang out, shoot the breeze, talk about projects we’re working on, and to organize new projects. It’s also an opportunity for those who are interested in Anarchism to find out more about the true philosophies and goals of Anarchists. Anyone who’s an anarchist, anti-statist, or just anarchy-curious is invited to join us.

Did you come here because of a flyer or handbill that made you curious about Anarchistic ideas? To learn more about what Anarchism is, why we want anarchy, and how we plan to get from our present State-dominated society to a free society without government, check out our guide for the Anarchy-Curious.